Maryland House Bill 156

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Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-1)
Status: Engrossed on March 11 2026 - 50% progression, died in committee
Action: 2026-03-12 - Referred Education, Energy, and the Environment
Pending: Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Engrossed) [PDF]

Authorizing unaffiliated voters to request to affiliate with a political party at an early voting center before a primary election or at a precinct polling place on a primary election day and vote a provisional ballot for the voter's preferred political party; requiring an election judge to determine if the voter resides in a certain county; applying the Act to all elections beginning with the statewide primary election in 2028; and prohibiting the application of the Act to any special elections held before the 2028 primary.

Election Law - Affiliating With a Party and Voting - Unaffiliated Voters

Del. Kris Fair [D]	Del. Cheryl Pasteur [D]	Del. Sheila Ruth [D]	Del. Chao Wu [D]
Del. Stuart Schmidt [R]	Del. Jared Solomon [D]	Del. Mary Lehman [D]	Del. Vaughn Stewart [D]
Del. Jen Terrasa [D]

2026-03-11 - House - Third Reading Passed (Y: 110 N: 26 NV: 1 Abs: 4) [PASS]

Date	Chamber	Action
2026-03-12	Senate	Referred Education, Energy, and the Environment
2026-03-11	House	Third Reading Passed (110-26)
2026-03-10	House	Second Reading Passed with Amendments
2026-03-10	House	Favorable with Amendments {483629/1 Adopted
2026-03-09	House	Favorable with Amendments Report by Government, Labor, and Elections
2026-01-16	House	Hearing 2/04 at 2:00 p.m.
2026-01-14	House	First Reading Government, Labor, and Elections
2025-10-03	House	Pre-filed

SB132 (Crossfiled) 2026-02-09 - Hearing 2/11 at 2:00 p.m.
HB257 (Carry Over) 2024-01-17 - Hearing 2/06 at 1:00 p.m.

Chapter	Article	Section	Citation Type	Statute Text
Election Law	11	303	(n/a)	See Bill Text
Election Law	3	303	(n/a)	See Bill Text
Election Law	3	305	(n/a)	See Bill Text
Election Law	3	306	(n/a)	See Bill Text
Election Law	9	404	(n/a)	See Bill Text

Type	Source
Summary	https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/HB0156?ys=2026RS
Text	https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0156f.pdf
Text	https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0156t.pdf
Amendment	https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/amds/bil_0006/hb0156_48362901.pdf
Supplement	https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/votes_comm/hb0156_gvc.pdf
Roll Call	https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/votes/House/0318.pdf